The Braintree White Sox from the Cranberry League won their first-ever Stan Musial World Series with a 3-2 win over the Bluehawks (New York) Sunday in Farmingdale, N.Y.

Zach Smith, who was named tournament MVP, picked up the win in tossing five innings of one-run ball. Smith allowed one run in 14 innings pitched during the tournament.

“I thought we had a chance to get here and once you’re in anything can happen,” said Braintree manager and general manager P.J. Thompson. “It’s so rewarding. You put so much into it and you sacrifice time away from your family.”

Matt Hamlet started the scoring with an RBI triple in the fourth that plated Erik Turgeon.

Jordan Enos drove in two runs – Hamlet and Marc Doyle – in the fifth.

Mike Bortollotti pitched the sixth and seventh innings, getting a key double play from third baseman Turgeon and Hamlet, the second baseman.

Justin Denbow picked up the save.

“It’s all about having good players,” said Thompson, who also credited associate general manager Collin McCarthy with helping the White Sox find talent. “It’s always nice when you can enjoy being in a dugout and having fun for those 25 to 30 games.

“It always starts with the players.”

Much like in the North Atlantic Regional, the White Sox had to pick themselves off the matt after dropping into the loser’s bracket after their second game in the World Series, an 8-0 loss to the Long Island Storm on Friday.

“This group in particular didn’t get down on themselves,” said Thompson. “We had planned to be here all weekend.

“The next day we had Timmy Troup going on the mound and he’s been to 10 to 15 Regionals and 4 to 5 World Series.”

“He’s not going to let you fall.”

After Friday’s blowout loss, the White Sox rebounded with wins over the Northwest Wildcats (6-2) and Bluehawks (7-2).

“We got in the loser’s bracket and didn’t blink,” said Thompson. “It says a lot about the character of the guys.”

Braintree finished the regular 23-1 before winning the Cranberry League, North Atlantic Regional and World Series. The White Sox also won the third annual Eastern Massachusetts Amateur Baseball Classic this season.

Thompson said Braintree’s win was the first World Series title for a team from Massachusetts since Lynn won it in the 1950s.

Sean Keady and Mike Muir, both outfielders from Bentley University, led the offense this season along with Matt Foley and Brandon Cipolla.

Page 2 of 2 - Thompson said the White Sox had a team ERA under 1.00 for the season.

In 2010, Braintree finished third in the World Series.

In addition to Braintree, the World Series included teams from Ohio, Illinois, California and two apiece from Texas and New York.

Chris McDaniel may be reached at CMcDaniel@enterprisenews.com and followed on Twitter @ChrisMcDaniel88.